Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph. At the beginning of the play we are in an upscale apartment on New York’s Upper East Side with a white woman, Emily, and her Muslim husband, Amir. Emily is an artist and is painting her lawyer husband with a Velasqeuz as her inspiration. Three other characters are introduced a bit later, Jory and Isaac (married couple who have close connections with Emily and Amir) and Amir’s nephew, Abe. The play spans the late summer of 2011 to spring of 2012. Amir is trying to push aside his Muslim roots and trying to fit into America, similar to his nephew but in differing ways. Emily believes the Muslim faith and ideals are unique and are not something to be ashamed of, but celebrated.
What is the intrusion? I believe the intrusion is when Amir goes to the imam’s court hearing, after getting pretty upset with his wife and nephew when they prodded him to in the first place. He believed he didn’t need to because just because they were both Muslim meant nothing to Amir. Amir believed that the imam would get what he deserved, even though Emily and Abe know the imam is clearly innocent but just being put on trial for his background. After this point, the play seems to take a turn for a slow downfall.
What is the unique factor? This is the period where Amir has to face the fact that he is, in fact, Muslim and goes to a court hearing which he later gets fired for. He is discriminated against for his faith and background.
What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play? We want to know why Amir is so adamant about denouncing his faith and background and we want to know what happens to Amir and Emily’s relationship, especially after we find out she had an affair with Isaac. Lastly, we want to know where Amir and Emily end up in their professional careers.
Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it. One thing only one person (or two) knows is that Emily and Isaac had an affair. Later, this information is disclosed to the entire set of characters and Amir is so overwhelmed with anger with Emily that he beats her practically to death. We could also say another illustration of this type of exposition could be that Amir is Muslim, but keeps that a secret from his coworkers, because he fears he will be discriminated against, which he ultimately was. The next type of exposition would be that Emily is an artist and has close connections with Isaac, though we don’t realize how close these connections really are until later in the play when their affair is revealed. Isaac has art shows and wants to feature Emily is his upcoming show, and it all makes sense at the end just why he wants to and why he would want to be so close to her.
Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be. I think the most theatrical moment of the play is when Amir says he felt a sent of pride after 9/11. This is the scene where he realizes he can never completely detach from his roots and he has been lying to himself saying he is no longer connected to that part of himself. This is the scene that took me aback and somewhat shocked me. Honestly, it made me even more fearful and completely erased any kind of sympathy I would have had for him being fired.
List some of the themes of the play. Some themes are Islamophobia, discrimination, the inward struggle of trying to find yourself, affairs, violence, Muslim-America, and interracial relationships.
What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants? First, Amir wants to completely disconnect with the Muslim part of himself, even changing his name and SSN. He struggles with Emily because she doesn’t understand why he wants to completely denounce his faith and get away from his Muslim roots when she believes the Muslim faith is unique and beautiful and should be embraced. She is very accepting of diversity. He also has some obstacles with his nephew, Abe, who changes his name to try and fit in. He believes Abe should have kept his name, when he has done the same exact thing by changing his own last name. He struggles with society who has an issue with Muslim-Americans, discriminating them because of 9/11 and other similar events. We see this when he gets fired from his job for simply attending a hearing with an innocent Muslim-American man on trial. Society tends to generalize a whole group of people when only a segment of that group actually has caused harm. I do not see any struggles against God or a higher power. Lastly, I would say Amir struggles with himself because he is trying to get away from his Muslim roots but, as we can see at the dinner conversation with Isaac and Jory, he cannot deny the fact that he has one foot in America and one foot in the Middle East. Subconsciously, he still feels that loyalty to his homeland. His wants later change to hurting Emily for what she has done, then immediately regretting it. Later, he just wants to get her back and for her to forgive him.
Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play. An obvious image is the painting of Amir that Emily painted. This represents a time in their relationship when it seemed they were happy. This is also the last thing that is mentioned at the end of the play. I think one could argue that this painting has several meanings. Next, another image could be Emily and Amir’s apartment. It represents the wealth Amir has accumulated by trying to denounce his faith and trying to fit in as a typical American with the American dream (being a lawyer, with a white wife, etc.). This could also be represented by the extremely expensive clothing Amir likes to buy and wear.
Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play. We see a struggling relationship among all the characters and families in the play. Amir and Emily struggle over their differing views on Islam. Amir has similar struggles with his nephew, Abe. Though, I believe Emily and Amir are like parents to Abe, as his parents are not in America to help him. Lastly, we see a struggling relationship with Jory and Isaac, as Isaac has cheated on his wife. Overall, this play just shows how families struggle in so many ways and no family is perfect.
At the beginning of the play we are in an upscale apartment on New York’s Upper East Side with a white woman, Emily, and her Muslim husband, Amir. Emily is an artist and is painting her lawyer husband with a Velasqeuz as her inspiration. Three other characters are introduced a bit later, Jory and Isaac (married couple who have close connections with Emily and Amir) and Amir’s nephew, Abe. The play spans the late summer of 2011 to spring of 2012. Amir is trying to push aside his Muslim roots and trying to fit into America, similar to his nephew but in differing ways. Emily believes the Muslim faith and ideals are unique and are not something to be ashamed of, but celebrated.
What is the intrusion?
I believe the intrusion is when Amir goes to the imam’s court hearing, after getting pretty upset with his wife and nephew when they prodded him to in the first place. He believed he didn’t need to because just because they were both Muslim meant nothing to Amir. Amir believed that the imam would get what he deserved, even though Emily and Abe know the imam is clearly innocent but just being put on trial for his background. After this point, the play seems to take a turn for a slow downfall.
What is the unique factor?
This is the period where Amir has to face the fact that he is, in fact, Muslim and goes to a court hearing which he later gets fired for. He is discriminated against for his faith and background.
What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
We want to know why Amir is so adamant about denouncing his faith and background and we want to know what happens to Amir and Emily’s relationship, especially after we find out she had an affair with Isaac. Lastly, we want to know where Amir and Emily end up in their professional careers.
Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
One thing only one person (or two) knows is that Emily and Isaac had an affair. Later, this information is disclosed to the entire set of characters and Amir is so overwhelmed with anger with Emily that he beats her practically to death. We could also say another illustration of this type of exposition could be that Amir is Muslim, but keeps that a secret from his coworkers, because he fears he will be discriminated against, which he ultimately was. The next type of exposition would be that Emily is an artist and has close connections with Isaac, though we don’t realize how close these connections really are until later in the play when their affair is revealed. Isaac has art shows and wants to feature Emily is his upcoming show, and it all makes sense at the end just why he wants to and why he would want to be so close to her.
Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
I think the most theatrical moment of the play is when Amir says he felt a sent of pride after 9/11. This is the scene where he realizes he can never completely detach from his roots and he has been lying to himself saying he is no longer connected to that part of himself. This is the scene that took me aback and somewhat shocked me. Honestly, it made me even more fearful and completely erased any kind of sympathy I would have had for him being fired.
List some of the themes of the play.
Some themes are Islamophobia, discrimination, the inward struggle of trying to find yourself, affairs, violence, Muslim-America, and interracial relationships.
What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of his getting what he wants?
First, Amir wants to completely disconnect with the Muslim part of himself, even changing his name and SSN. He struggles with Emily because she doesn’t understand why he wants to completely denounce his faith and get away from his Muslim roots when she believes the Muslim faith is unique and beautiful and should be embraced. She is very accepting of diversity. He also has some obstacles with his nephew, Abe, who changes his name to try and fit in. He believes Abe should have kept his name, when he has done the same exact thing by changing his own last name. He struggles with society who has an issue with Muslim-Americans, discriminating them because of 9/11 and other similar events. We see this when he gets fired from his job for simply attending a hearing with an innocent Muslim-American man on trial. Society tends to generalize a whole group of people when only a segment of that group actually has caused harm. I do not see any struggles against God or a higher power. Lastly, I would say Amir struggles with himself because he is trying to get away from his Muslim roots but, as we can see at the dinner conversation with Isaac and Jory, he cannot deny the fact that he has one foot in America and one foot in the Middle East. Subconsciously, he still feels that loyalty to his homeland. His wants later change to hurting Emily for what she has done, then immediately regretting it. Later, he just wants to get her back and for her to forgive him.
Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
An obvious image is the painting of Amir that Emily painted. This represents a time in their relationship when it seemed they were happy. This is also the last thing that is mentioned at the end of the play. I think one could argue that this painting has several meanings. Next, another image could be Emily and Amir’s apartment. It represents the wealth Amir has accumulated by trying to denounce his faith and trying to fit in as a typical American with the American dream (being a lawyer, with a white wife, etc.). This could also be represented by the extremely expensive clothing Amir likes to buy and wear.
Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
We see a struggling relationship among all the characters and families in the play. Amir and Emily struggle over their differing views on Islam. Amir has similar struggles with his nephew, Abe. Though, I believe Emily and Amir are like parents to Abe, as his parents are not in America to help him. Lastly, we see a struggling relationship with Jory and Isaac, as Isaac has cheated on his wife. Overall, this play just shows how families struggle in so many ways and no family is perfect.